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Osaka police arrest man in murder of girlfriend whose corpse found on balcony

Tomoaki Komoto
Tomoaki Komoto

OSAKA (TR) – Following the discovery of skeletal remains of a woman at a residence last month, Osaka Prefectural Police on Thursday arrested the former male resident of the unit in her murder around seven years ago, reports TV Asahi (Nov. 16).

At around 7:00 a.m., police apprehended Tomoaki Komoto, 28, at a restaurant in Abeno in the killing of Ayumi Hiraku, who is believed to have died at the age of 21 or 22.

According to police, Komoto, who is the former boyfriend of Hiraku, has admitted to killing her. “I strangled her to death,” the suspect told police. He is believed to have killed her in 2010.

Prior to Thursday, the suspect’s whereabouts were not known. On October 26, an employee from a housing guarantee company alerted police about the discovery of the remains wrapped in a cloth on the balcony of the second-floor residence, located in the Showacho area of Abeno.

Three days before the discovery, the representative from the housing guarantee company entered the residence with police after rent had not been paid by Komoto for an extended period.

When the residence was checked during the first visit it was found to be full of garbage. During that visit, the balcony was not checked.

According to a previous report, the parents of Komoto last spoke to their son on the telephone in March or April. He went missing in May, they said.